At first it seems as if there are scores of feral cats wandering the lanes of Nikiana, lurking around the industrial-sized rubbish bins near restaurants and blocks of flats, shading themselves under parked cars, sitting on empty plots of land with thousand-yard stares in their eyes, drifting in and out of a half-built villa. TheyContinue reading “Tell me, Muse, of the cats of Lefkada, the crafty ferals who banished snakes to the crags…”
Author Archives: Martin Yelverton
It’s easy to lose your head on the spiritual path – but true insight comes with practice
REVIEW Headless Way: A Day With Richard Lang The room is filled with smiling, headless people, or so they are claiming to be. As am I: a headless man looking at headless men and women looking back each other. Our teacher, Richard Lang, gleefully, if a little bafflingly, says we are all “face to noContinue reading “It’s easy to lose your head on the spiritual path – but true insight comes with practice”
Bologna’s vegan delights: a feast for the senses and the soul
Bologna in Italy has plenty of excellent options for the vegan traveller, a fact that added much to my enjoyment of this unpretentious and friendly city. Here are a few places I tried – and can thoroughly recommend – during a visit a couple of weeks ago. Everywhere I went, I was struck by howContinue reading “Bologna’s vegan delights: a feast for the senses and the soul”
The 3-minute breathing space meditation develops the power of short moments, many times
Three-minute meditations – short moments, many times – can have a powerful effect, helping you to calmly centre yourself in awareness by breaking the spell of flying through your life on autopilot. They soon add up to a mindfulness practice that could help you find more ease.
Valencia is rich with the kind of street art that adds so much to the visual appeal of Spanish cities. A few examples seen in July 2023…
A Norfolk sanctuary for animals saved from the abuses of people
Strange bleats and whinnyings like I’ve never heard draw me towards a lush spring paddock. Scores of goats mill around munching grass, or chilling. They are not the bleaters. The peculiar noises come from a pair of long-necked, quiff-topped quadrupeds straight out of Dr Seuss… chasing each other from one side of their dandelion-speckled patchContinue reading “A Norfolk sanctuary for animals saved from the abuses of people”
A report from the frontline of UK Grim with Sleaford Mods and Cold War Steve
Boris Johnson. Nigel Farage. Jacob Rees-Mogg. Liz Truss. Matt Hancock. Piers Morgan. Jeremy Clarkson. Priti Patel… The list goes on, a grotesque cast of the privileged and entitled who ooze across the husked-out landscape of modern Britain in this powerful video by the artist Cold War Steve (Christopher Spencer) for the title track of theContinue reading “A report from the frontline of UK Grim with Sleaford Mods and Cold War Steve”
The Bricks’ Reverse Alchemy EP revels in their wild musical DNA
NEW MUSIC Reverse Alchemy EP by The Bricks If you like a bit of hard-hitting post-punk rock ’n roll, check out this new EP by The Bricks from York in the UK. They’re tight, they throw time around, they rock out totally, they even funk it up some. It’s a really interesting sound: in theContinue reading “The Bricks’ Reverse Alchemy EP revels in their wild musical DNA”
Advertising Standards Authority highlights cruelty of the meat industry (and its own hypocrisy)
At first glance – as a vegan, at any rate – it was easy to be irritated by news last week that Britain’s Advertising Standards Authority had banned a TV advert by Vegan Friendly UK on the grounds that it was “likely to cause distress” to viewers. It’s not a particularly gruesome ad, showing aContinue reading “Advertising Standards Authority highlights cruelty of the meat industry (and its own hypocrisy)”
A guided run through the full Pawanmuktasana Series of gentle yoga exercises
Join me in this video for a guided run through the full Pawanmuktasana Series, an excellent three-part sequence of simple yoga exercises designed to gently mobilise and energise the whole body, working through most of the joints and major muscle groups. While it is a physical practice, you will, as always with yoga, get moreContinue reading “A guided run through the full Pawanmuktasana Series of gentle yoga exercises”
Bardo Burner 